What to do with eggplant

I make eggplant chips. I wash it and then cut it in rounds on the think side. I put it on release foil and sprinkle it with balsamic vinegar and a very little ol and cook it at 350 to 400 till it brown and then flip it.. Usually about 20 minutes will its done and it makes a great low calorie snack. Hope that helps.

Slice eggplant (peel if you want), salt both sides generously and allow to sit for about 10 minutes, Rinse.
Spray with olive oil, grill on outdoor grill or griddle.

In a baking dish layer eggplant, add favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce, sprinkle mozzarella on top. Bake until cheese is melted and slightly brown.

You can add in meat or other veggies to sauce if you'd like. Serve with side salad.

Cut it into cubes & mix with squash and other veggies cut about the same size. Toss with olive oil, salt and herbs. Roast in the ovenat 350 for 20 -30 minutes. Excellent side dish.

Roast it then spoon out the flesh into a bowl, add onions & garlic also roasted, olive oil, lemon juice,salt and pepper and diced tomatoes. Mash and fold so that it becomes a dip. Serve with crackers, pita etc. Some have subtituted mayonnaise for oilive oil and lemon juice.

My mother makes an eggplant spread. Bake the eggplants whole (i suggest buying medium sized ones), you can do this in the oven or on the barbecue. Let it cool for a bit so that you don't burn your hands and then peel them.
Put them in a bowl and use a mixer until smooth. Add salt, pepper, any spices you like really. I like adding some chopped onions and a little bit of mayo.. I just spread this on bread, but you can have it with chips, crackers, veggies,whatever you want.

I tried to make eggplant parmigiana and everything tasted awesome... except for the eggplant. I think I just don't like the taste of eggplant, or maybe I cooked it incorrectly.

Anyway, I heard eggplant ratatouille is a good option.

Thanks guys. I am trying to venture out on my eggplant recipes. These sound awesome...especially the spread! YUM! Thank you. :bigsmile:

Peel it and cut it into strips (can cut into two pieces) and along with other vegetables (peppers, onions, squash, cauliflower etc. peeled and cut into chunks) mix some olive oil with whatever spices you like and pour over veggies. It doesn't require a lot of oil since you mix the veggies until they are coated. Place in shallow pan and roast in a 375 - 400 degree oven. As they begin to brown, you can turn them over and finish roasting them. It's one of our favorite vegetable dishes and SO easy to fix as well as SO tasty!

I tried to make eggplant parmigiana and everything tasted awesome... except for the eggplant. I think I just don't like the taste of eggplant, or maybe I cooked it incorrectly.

Anyway, I heard eggplant ratatouille is a good option.

Are you salting it first? I peel and slice my eggplant into 1/2" slices, lay them on a rack (like the ones you cool baked goods on) and put that in the sink. Cover the slices librally with kosher salt and let sit for 30 minutes. This sweats out bitter juices. Rinse, dry and use however you want. You can also do this without peeling them first if you prefer to keep the peel on.

My ratatouille recipe (such as it is---I just kind of go by feel and taste) is:
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 red bell pepper, minced (or use a combination of bell peppers to =1)
2 stalks celery, minced
1 medium carrot, minced
1 eggplant, peeled, salted and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 medium zucchini, split in half lengthwise, then sliced into half moons
1 summer squash, split in half lengthwise, then sliced into half moons
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes (with any herbs and spices if you like)
1 cup sliced mushrooms

Use whatever kind of oil, cooking spray, whatever you like to coat the bottom of a lange nonstick pot or dutch oven. Heat the oil on medium heat until hot, then add garlic, onion, diced peppers, celery and carrot. Saute until vegetables are soft, about 5-8 minutes, adding salt, pepper, oregano, thyme halfway through (I just do some generous shakes of the spice bottle. Herbes de Provence is also nice in this).

Once aromatics are soft, add cubes of eggplant and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. This gives the eggplant a head start on cooking. When the eggplant starts to soften, add the canned tomatoes and the 2 types of squash. Stir well and turn up the heat to medium-high. This will allow the vegetables to give off some cooking liquid. If it looks way too dry, feel free to add another half can of tomatoes. (This may be necessary if your eggplant and squashes are on the large side).

When the liquid in the pot gets to almost-boiling, turn down the heat to medium and simmer for a while, stirring occasionally. I usually let it simmer for about 30 minutes, checking the vegetables for doneness. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes. At this point you can add crushed red pepper, if desired.

It's a very forgiving recipe. If the yellow squash looks manky, I double the zucchini. I do like using red bell peppers for the color and slightly sweeter taste, but green will do if necessary.

Accoring to the recipe calculator here, it's very low in calories and high in fiber. Adding some greated parmesean is nice, and sometimes I add cubes of fresh mozzerella. The cheese melts into the dish nicely. This also freezes very well. I get about 6-8 portions out of the recipe above, and I freeze them in 2-cup food containers so I can just grab one in the morning and take it to work.

marinate sliced eggplant in fat free low cal Italian dressing and grill! Yum!